We all take risk, but sometimes you also need to understand that areas around the world is just to unsafe to travel, no matter how good you plan may have a death wish going to places like this, I'm sure there was warning put out before they took this trip.

I explicitly laid out a warning here on Trailspace several months back(may have been even longer ago) to a different climbing party going to a region just north of there in Afghanistan. It's not in the news or mainstream media, but this entire area in the northern most section of Pakistan and the NE section of Afghanistan also known as the Wakhan corridor is a MAJOR under the radar hotspot. I spent alot of time there.... trust me.

This is tragic and senseless, though I don't think the world is any less dangerous than it was 100 years ago. While the British ruled India, Afghanistan was still an area ruled by factions, and India itself had various groups who periodically targeted travelers. The Thuggee cult was built on that premise and despite efforts by the British survived at least to the early 20th century. As horrible as piracy off Somalia is, pirates attacked ships in the Asian Pacific into the mid 20th century. Joshua Slocum had several conflicts with people hostile to travelers.

We have convinced ourselves that the world is somehow a safer place now. It isn't, just more connected. 100 years ago, it would have taken weeks or even months to learn of this attack.

Since the time of Alexander, no invader has ever defeated the tribes in the region of the Kyber Pass for very long. Not the British, nor the Russians, nor the Americans, to name a few. Alexander did it by letting them keep their traditions and laws, leaving some of his troops troops behind to marry into the local tribes and, in keeping with their traditions, by marrying one.

It's unfortunate when the political fallout effects a theoretically neutral activity like climbing, but we would be well to remember that most people in Afghanistan and Pakistan (and most other countries) view all Westerners as foreign invaders.